When, with :09 seconds left in a half and the ball, you somehow net a -3, when you can't run a simple 2-on-1 break, when you can't discern that your starting SG's left arm is one of those gag shop doodads that you lodge in your car trunk, you're not going to beat the Eastern Conference's best team on its home floor. The Clippers had plenty of opportunities. They decided to pressure Gil way outside in the third quarter, only they allowed a stiff like Brendan Haywood to run unmolested underneath as if he were Hakeem. Each time they had a chance to cut the lead to single digits in the second half, the Clips seemingly turned the ball over.

Mobley --- sure, you admire the pluckiness given that his elbow is apparently a Japanese paper lantern --- destroyed the Clips and it took Mike Dunleavy twenty game minutes to see it, despite Cat's zero rebounds, zero assists with a 1-8 line from the field. Worse than all that? Caron Butler. Butler, who was Cat's assignment, torched the Clippers. Gilbert is going to cook his chicken and shrimp one way or another, but if you allow Caron Butler six field goals inside of two feet, well... I know that every NBA baller wants to be Wes Unseld or Isiah Thomas, but if a guy isn't healthy enough to play effectively, he shouldn't be on the court, particularly against a massively talented wing team like Washington.

Which breakdown? How about coughing up a 12-2 run to close the first half? Or the 25 Wizz points off turnovers? How about an insider's dispatch from Gil's 25th? Wishful thinking. Is there a guy with a more impenetrable consciousness in the game right now than Gilbert Arenas? I really thought that 30 footer he fired up in the third as the shock clock expired was going to fall, and a small part of me, Clippers' heroic road win streak aside, wanted it to. Gilbert would've watched it ascend from his fingertips then, just as he made some psychic, otherworldly transmit with the ball's arc, he would've turned away --- just as he did the other night against Milwaukee --- counting it before you did.

One day I'll write up a counterfactual summary of the Clippers' three-and-a-half seasons with Gilbert Arenas. I've been planning to. Really.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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Comments

Overconfidence again. Dunleavy still doesn't get it. It's that lapse of few minutes during the game which normally cost us game like this. He needs to tighten his grip every minute of the game. He lets bad play continue & weak playmakers stay on the court for too long.

Overall Clips played fine. When you play Mobley instead of TThomas, Ewing or Singleton....it's not easy to win. It's time to put him on injured list.

when we've needed a spark the season and he's gotten an opportunity, singleton has continued to rise to the occasion. why the hell isn't he getting more minutes? i'm starting to think i'd move kaman just to dump mobley's contract with him.

Wow, you're starting to sound like one of those guys over at Clippertalk locker room. This team can do that to you. I'm starting to yell at the TV and my wife thinks I'm losing my mind. My neighbors have even started to notice. It's very frustrating, to say the least.

Most teams hope to play at least .500 ball on the road (or better if possible of course). But the Clips are nowhere near .500 ball on the road. Even though they've shown some good signs of late (gelling a little bit), their road record speaks volumes about their trouble this season, which is going to be a long, long, long one if they keep playing this way.

Dunleavy Sr. Fucking sucks. He lets leads dwindle till the opposing team are a few points away from the lead. Instead of calling time outs to stop the bleeding make a substitution an adjustment. Something!! And have you noticed when the cameras go to Dunleavy when his team is getting clowned on the court. He has this face like he has no idea what to do. Last night the game changed in Washingtons favor. When Fucking Mobley made those stupid lazy passes to the post in the 2nd quarter. That changed the game. Believe it or not. Mobley stinks not Maggette. I hope someone could tell Dunleavy Sr. that he Sucks Major Ass!!!!!

Craig, my wife said the same thing to me last night. I started to lose it when the Clips broke down. I guess it's not just the frustration of one game or even this season. It's probably an accumulation of frustration since 1989 when I first became a fan after they acquired Ron Harper. After all the botched draft picks and thinking that with a little more deftness the Clips could have signed Arenas instead of Mobley, how much more frustration can a fan take!

Where are all the Kaman fans who raved about Kaman after the win against Zo and company? Again, the opposing center puts up similar numbers to Kaman, but last night it was from someone who is very far from the hall of fame.....

We lost a good game yesterday. They wanted this game more than we did. They choose to run & gun... and joined them with less enthusiasm. That's the difference. And playing Mobley during that crucial stretch cost us more than one game. It proved, that if teams run like crazy... we give up, without a fight. And we did.

They lost only 3 home games. And recently they beat Lakers & Suns as well. Apart from Mobley, we are in great shape. We can still afford to lose 15 more games this season. Losing to a good team is always expected. Atleast on the road.